


the true face of love (you are my solace)

by sunnyangel (orphan_account)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, cupid’s a bitch, i love them, nico deserves better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sunnyangel
Summary: Sometimes, Nico’s shoulder still aches. He feels as though Cupid’s arrow is still stuck inside.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	the true face of love (you are my solace)

**Author's Note:**

> Sei così testardo = you are so stubborn  
> Non preoccuparti per me = do not worry about me  
> Mio caro = my darling/my dear one

Sometimes, Nico’s shoulder still aches. He feels as though Cupid’s arrow is still stuck inside.

He grunted, gently massaging the sore muscles om his right shoulder as he watched a few campers continue on with their sword fighting lessons in the arena. The camp seemed almost too empty, with only a small group of year-end campers staying around to go on with their usual activities, and although he quite liked the quietness during random hours, ot still felt misplaced without the usual buzz rolling around.

“Oi, Di Angelo!”

Nico lifts his head to see Sherman Yang waving his sword to catch his attention. He raises an eyebrow at him, gaze neutral. He kept on massaging his still throbbing shoulder.

“Why aren’t you training?” Sherman asked. Chiara, who is also one of the campers training inside the arena, turns to him. Nico shifts uncomfortably on his spot, the cemented spot he’s sitting on growing hotter by the second.

“Are you alright?” Chiara asked, showing signs of concern to him. “You look a bit pale.”

Nico nods at them and removes his hand on his shoulder. “Yeah,” he says. “I just need to warm up my shoulders.”

“Is it hurting again?” Chiara proceeds to sheathe her sword as she approached him from across the arena. Sherman ignored the both of them and continued on with his training. “I told you to have it checked already.”

Nico only grunted in response. Chiara, as much as he appreciated her concern, can be a bit nosy at times. She was the first one to know about the pains on his shoulder and was also the first one to point it out directly to him. She asked him why the first time she noticed, and proceeded to ask him again the following times she saw him wincing in pain while clutching his shoulder. If he were to be honest, he’s not entirely sure of reason, too. He can only think of one, but he’s not going to say it out loud, especially not to someone he barely knows.

“I’m fine, Chiara. This is nothing.”

Chiara stopped a few meters in front of him, her dark hair framing her face to look as though she is always glowering. Nico raised an eyebrow at her.

“ _Sei così testardo,”_ she tells him. “You almost always don’t listen to us.”

A smile almost broke out of Nico’s lips. Somehow, she reminded him of Bianca with her words and actions. “I said I’m fine, didn’t I? _Non preoccuparti per me.”_

“ _Ah, mio caro,”_ she shakes her head at him, crossing her arms across her chest. “One can only do so much. You always forget to take care of yourself. Has Will done anything to make it better?”

Nico blushes profusely at the mention of his _boyfriend._ “Uh, he doesn’t know.”

Chiara rolls her eyes at him, muttering something about how she should have expected it already. She continued to go on and on, lecturing Nico about his stubbornness, in which, much to his demise, made him head to the infirmary unwillingly just to make her stop yapping.

He feels another ache stabbing through his shoulder as he headed towards the Big House. He’s already become all too familiar with the sky blue building with the amount of time he’s spent in it when he helps out at the infirmary. The sight of it today, though, although still the same as before, made his pulse drum in anticipation.

He hates to admit it, why his shoulder, up until now, still burdens him. He can still remember the deep, rich voice that sent tremors down the entirety of his back. He hates remembering _him,_ he hates remembering how he was made fun of, how he was forced to unleash his biggest fear, his _shameful_ self in front of other people. It was wrong, he knows it is, but sometimes, he cannot help but to put the blame on himself.

He wonders if Cupid’s arrow was only there to torment him. He remembers Cupid telling Jason that he’s already found his true love, but how can he believe that when Jason amd Piper ended on bad terms? Soulmates are not real, just as much as Cupid is a whole liar that feeds off of other people’s misery.

As he went up the steps to the Big House, he spots Kayla holding a tray full of medicinal materials. “Hey, Nico!” She greeted him enthusiastically. “Are you here to help?”

Nico shakes his head at her. “Uh, I’m here for a check up. Is Will there?”

“Oh? Yeah, he’s inside. He actually just finished his shift amd was about to come and see you train, but I guess he won’t have to do that now.”

They exchanged a few more words before Kayla finally took off to her cabin. Nico, who is now left alone at the front porch of the Big House, hesitantly heads towards the infirmary. He spots Argus by the doorway, his eyes blinking rapidly upon seeing him. He nods quietly at him to acknowledge his presence.

“Nico!”

A wide grin spread across Will’s face, the freckles dusting pver his face glinting brightly under the natural light peeking through the blinds. Nico lets a small sigh of content escape his lips.

“Hey,” Nico walks over to him. “Can you check up on my shoulder?”

“Why? What happened?” Will placed both of his hands on Nico’s arms, his touch burning against Nico’s skin. “Did you injure yourself again? Your wounds from last week aren’t fully healed yet!”

Nico slowly shakes his head. As he was being guided towards a small hospital bed, he said, “My shoulder’s been bothering me these past few weeks.”

“Why?” Will lets Nico sit on the neatly made bed as he reaches out for his clipboard. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Nico sighs. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

Nico shrugged at him, fimgers digging through the bed’s thin mattress. “It’s always hurting. My right shoulder is always hurting.”

Will furrowed his eyebrows before proceeding to examine his boyfriend. Nico stayed quiet the whole time, and although he still felt a tad bit uncomfortable with the excessive amount of physical contact, he finds that he does not mind as long as it’s Will.

“You seem fine, though?” Will says after he examined Nico. “Your blood pressure is still a bit low, but overall you seem fine.”

Nico grunts before lifting his hand to his right shoulder, feeling another stab of pain, although this time was more tolerable.

Will put a hand on Nico’s knee. “What’s wrong?” He asks, voice softer.

“It’s nothing…” Nico trails off. Will takes a step back, not wanting to push him much more further. He knows never to force Nico into saying things he does not want to share.

“Well, let me know if you meed anything. I’ll ne staying here for a few more minutes to tidy up the place. Are you hungry?”

Nico slowly shook his head. “Actually,” he meets Will’s gaze. “do you remember what I told you about my encounter with… Cupid?”

Will nods at him. “Yeah,” he says, not wanting to make it seem like he wants to pry. “Why?”

Nico starts to play with his feet, his head hanging low in shame. “I think I know why my shoulder’s bothering me,” he lifts his head to see Will patiently waiting for him to continue. “I, uh, did not mention it to you the first time I told you about it, but he actually hit me with his arrow.”

Will’s eyes widened momentarily. Nico turns his head to see his shoulder, his fingertips grazing the part where the arrow hit him. It’s been months since it happened, months since he tried to erase the image of the arrow piercing through his skin before disappearing into thin air.

_Soulmates. True love._

“Cupid’s arrow… hit you?” Will slowly walks over to Nico. He reaches out to his shoulder, his palm gently caressing Nico’s knuckles. “Here?” He stares at Nico’s unwounded shoulder.

Nico nods at him. Will removes his hand on his boyfriend and glanced at his own shoulder. Slowly, he yanks down the right sleeve of his t-shirt, exposing his skin. Nico stared at the birthmark resting among the trails of freckles dusting over Will’s right shoulder. The birthmark, in the shape of what seemed like a poorly drawn circle, laid on the same spot as to where Cupid’s arrow pierced through Nico’s shoulder.

“Nico…” Will calls out to him.

_Soulmate. True love._ The words echoed through Nico’s mind like a broken record. _Love cannot be pinned down so easily,_ Cupid once told them. He thinks—as he gazed upon Will in wonder—that love, indeed, cannot. It will always exist, in different forms and in different times. Will Solace, Nico thinks, just may be his most favorite form of love, and he hopes he will be the last.

**Author's Note:**

> make sure to leave a comment if you liked it!


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